What is frightening about the revision of the Czech school curriculum: further loosening and ideologization

The Ministry of Education and the National Pedagogical Institute (NPI) are expecting “feedback” on their proposal for a new curriculum in primary education, which is modernly called the Framework Education Program (FEP). The opportunity for the general public to comment will be open until the end of May. After that, experts from the institute will evaluate the comments and submit the revised RVP to the Ministry of Education for final approval in September.

Today, literally everyone can express themselves on the website Revize.rvp.cz. He taps on the Public consultation box, finds the questionnaire and sends feedback. Given that the proposal has so far met with more disagreement, it can be assumed that the Ministry as the contracting authority and the NPI as the executor will be happy if the deadline expires and the feedback is not enough to develop into a public discussion.

The Minister of Education is Mikuláš Bek, but the revision started two to three ministers before him, already under Robert Plaga, who managed education in the Babiš government. Plaga determined the direction with a bon mot that the RVP needed to be ventilated. Sociologist and pedagogue Arnošt Veselý, who managed the creation of Strategy 2030+ for the ministry, to which today’s proposal also refers, specified that knowledge in teaching should decrease by half. This intention is fulfilled regardless of whether Babiš or Fiala is in charge, in fact a broad coalition has formed over him.

In the revised RVP for primary schools, we find three great candidates for public criticism. Firstly, it is mathematics, where a part of the teaching public, looking at the knowledge that is to be required from ninth graders, points out that such a level is expected of Czech pupils in the 7th or even the 6th grade. The second great source of public astonishment is history. Finally, the third bone of contention, more potential than realized, is the strong emphasis on environmentalism.

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